Filament testing apparatus



June 2, 1942.

L. w. DAvls FILAMENT' TESTINGIAPPARATUS Filed Nov. :5. 1959 4 sheets-smet' '1 June 2, 1942. L.. w. DAVIS FILAMENT TESTINe'APPARATus Filed Nov. 3; i959 4 sheets-sheet 02 Jmz, 1942.

L. w. DAVIS FILAHENT TESTING APPARATUS Filed Nov. :5. 1959 4 sheets-sheer. s,

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. 1NVENTOR.

L 0)@ W. DA l//S`Y 7% ,ZTORNEK June 2, 1942.

L. w. DAvls FILAMENT TESTING APPARATUS 4 sneets-sh'eetA Filed NOV. 43, 1939 INVENTOR. Law w. Al//s ATTORNEY.

sliding rider.

Patented June 2, 19.42 'i UNITEDsTATE s PAT oFFlcaj FILAMENT TESTING APPARATUS moya w. rimaniamo-ela, N. J., signor to National Oil Products Company, Harrison, N. J., a corporation ot Newlersey Application November s, leaaserial No'. 302,706

13 claims. (Cl. *z3-s1) characteristics of material and which apparatus requires only a small quantity of the material to be tested in order'to obtain its frictional characteristicsx `Another object-of this inventionis to provide `a novel apparatus for determining the frictional characteristics-of material, which apparatus is substantially automatic in operation and therefore eliminates variations due to human error-` 'Anotli object of my invention is to provide a novel a paratus for measuring the frictional 'characteristics of material in an easy and rapid manner. I

These and other objects of the invention will be readily apparent from the following descrip'- tion and drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 represents aside elevation of an apparatus embodying my invention, and shows the position of the unit or element to be tested thereby as well as the relative position of the parts with all four switches of the electric circuits being open and as shown in Figure 10.

Figure 2 is a top plan view l.of the apparatus embodying the invention. l

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the sliding element and platform therefor together with the actuator for the sliding element.

Figure 4 is a side view of the inverted U-shaped Figure 5 is a side view of a portion of the ap- Figure 8 is a cross sectional view taken on line VIII-VIII of Figure 6 in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 9 is a cross sectional view taken on line IX-IX of Figure 8 in the direction of the ar- I'OWS.

l the different positions of the switch contacts at different stages during operation of the novel apparatus embodying the novel circuits and combination of circuits. f

As shown in the drawingsI wherein'there is illustrated one of the preferred embodiments of the invention, the novel apparatus comprisesla wooden base I0 to which are secured Ithree-depending wooden legs II terminating in adjustable leveling screws I2 which may be adjusted so that the base lIII may be leveledor located at any desired angular position which isv visible on a spirit level I3 mounted on the upper face of base I0 atl the rear end thereof. A fiat wooden board or table I4 is hinged at I5 to the base IIlat the fore end thereof s'o that the inclinations of said table I4 may be varied at will, by moving a supporting member I6 which is slidably mounted on the base I 0 and in a# slot I1 extending along a major part of the lengths thereof.

That portion ofV member I 6 which is located in the slot I1 has an opening therethrough in which is' threaded a screw or threaded shaft I8".

same direction and the member I6 is fed along .i the length of the shaft I8 forwardly linv the direction away from the handle 20 and towards the hinge I5 to force the rear Aend of table I4 upwardly and thus increase the angle between the base I0 and the table I4 and thus increase the paratusembodying the invention and shows the f relativey positions of the parts after two of the 4 rider has reached its limit of travel.

`Figure 7 isa cross sectional view taken'on line vrivn of Figure 5 in the direction of the ar- .-lOWS@ inclination of the table I4 to the base Ill. When it is desired to reduce the angle or the inclination between plate I0 and table Il, the handle is counter-rotated whereupon the element I6 feeds Figures 10-13 show a wiring diagram and shw lrigidly secured to one end of a link 3|.

mark line thereon in line with the upper fore corner of the element I6 which bears against the underside of table I4 and the graduation above that fore corner and the graduation below the mark line are read and the distance between the upper edge and the lower edge of the element I6 bearing respectively against the table I4 and base I8 is constant and with these facts available the trigonometric function of the angle between the table I4 and base I8 may be readily computed.

Depending from the bottom of table I4 is a short metallic strip 2I having an outwardly projecting bolt 22 secured thereto. The element or unit 23 to be tested, and as shown being a thread has one end thereof wrappedaround bolt 22 to anchor the same thereto. From its anchored end at 22, the thread 23 extends upwardly and forwardly over a grooved guide pin 24 extending outwardly from the side of table I4, and thence over a grooved guide roller 25 secured to the lower end of the table I4. The free end of the thread 23 is secured toda weight 26 which maintains the thread 23 taught along the path from bolt 22 over pin 24, over roller 25 to weight 26. This same weight 26 may be used in making comparative tests so that all of the elements or units to-be tested are under the same tensional force.

An inverted U-shaped iron or steel rider 21 is mounted on the element 23 to be tested in the manner shown in Figure 1 and is maintained at the position of the pin 24 by a retainer which may be actuated to operative and inoperative positions. The retainer may be an L-shaped element having the long arm 28 thereof cylindrical and journalled in bearings 28 secured to the table l I4. The short arm "38 of the retainer extends downwardly and when in operative position its free end bears against rider -21 on element 23 to maintain the rider 21 against pin`24 which is to be its starting point of rider travel. The end of the longarm 28 away from the short arm 38 is One end of a long link or rod 32 is loosely pivoted to the other end of the link 3I. The link 32 extends alongside of table I4 and the other end thereof is loosely pivoted to one end of a link 33 whose other end is rigidly secured to one end of an electrical conducting rod or shaft 34ljournalled in bearings 35 secured to `table I4 at the fore end thereof.

Secured to the other end of shaft 34 is an electrically conducting projecting element 36. A tension spring 31 has one end secured to the end of link 3l away from arm 28 and its other end secured to a pin secured to table I4. This spring 31 acts upon the link 3| to pun the link or roda: and maintain projection 36 in its upperposition and also to act upon the arm 28 to maintain arm 38 against the rider 21 to maintain the rider in its upper extreme position.

Located in one end of coil 38 and insulated therefrom is a soft iron or magnetic stop 48 maintained in xed position by a threaded projection 4I integral therewith and secured by nut Also secured to the outer end of the armature 75 I is secured an insulator 62.

" u is a unk 41.

Projection or link 41 extends over element 45 and its other end is pivotally -mounted to one end of a link 48 which is free to rotate on a-pivot 49 at the center of link 48. Pivotally 'mounted on the other end of link 48 is a long vlink or rod 58 whose other end extends through an enlarged opening in one end of a link 5I whose other end is mounted on pivot 52. The link 5I extends through a guide and stop inverted U element 53 secured to table I4 to limit the degree of swing of the link 5 I.

That end of the rod 58 which extends beyond the link 5I has a nut stop or boss-54 secured thereto. Atension spring 55 has one end thereof secured to table I4 and its other end secured to the link 5I near the enlarged opening therein. The spring 55 tends to maintain the link-5I in 'fl one extreme position against one of the sides of element 53 and rod 58 vis-pulled towards thev upper free end of table I4 and the link 48 is swung about pivot 49 to pull armature 44 away from the element 48.

, A crown stop watch 56 is detachably mounted in a holder 51 therefor. The holder 51 is secured to table I4 and mounted on its upper face. The knurled end or crown 58 of the stem of vsaid watch is located close to one side of the link 5I and is in the path of said link 5I so that the stem may be moved upon actuationV of said link 5I to trip said Watch 56 for starting and stopping and resetting the same.

Ak supporting plate 68 is secured to one side of table I4 and integral with plate 68 and at an angle thereto is a supporting plate 6I on which Mounted on said insulator 62 is a long rigid contact 63 having a contact tip 64 at the free end thereof. An insulator 65 is mounted on the contact 63 and on insulator 65 is a long spring contact 61 having a contact tip 68 at the free end thereof. Mounted on the contact 61 is an insulator 69. The contact 61 normally presses towards contact 63 at the free en d thereof and the contact tips 64 and 68- are normally in contiguous relationship if no outside force is applied thereto.

The element 68 extends upwardly from table I4 in the form of an inverted U. A pin or shaft 1I is rotatably mounted across said U member 6, with one end thereof disposedv in a conical depression in one arm of element 68 and the other end bearing in the recessed end of an adjustable bolt 12 threadedly mounted in the other arm of element 68. By adjusting the bolt 12, the degree of force necessary to rotate shaft 1I may be controlled. Theelement 68 extends partially around the free ends of spring contacts 63 -and 61.

The axis 1I has a small wheel 13 rigidly-secured thereto and located between one ami of the element 68 and the contacts 63 and 61. A pair of diametrically opposed pins 14 and 15 are secured to said wheel and are so disposed that when the wheel 13 is rotated in one direction, the pin 14 strikes the upturned end of the contact 61 to force the contact tip 65 away from contact tip 64 and thus provide an insulating Y space therebetween, as shown in Figures l, 5

and '1.

A support 16 for a pivot 11 is secured to the under side of table I4. Mounted on said pivot 11 at a point between its ends is a lock lever 18 having a notch in one side near the free extremity thereof. A link rod 19 has one end pivotally mounted in an enlarged opening in the lower end of)lever 18 and its other end is pivotally mounted in an enlarged opening at one 2,285,255' end of a follower 80 located in a housing and guide 82. The follower 80 may be a flat disc I or plate having an` opening therein adapted to accommodate a cam or actuator. The actuator may be an elonagted rod 83 extending through aligned openings in guide 8| and through guide `84 secured to table i4. The lower part 85 of rod 83 is bent upwardly towards `the free end.v of table |4 and finally terminates in a portionwhich is parallel tothe upper part of rod 83 to provide a cam or offset actuating device for the follower 80..

The upper part of rod 83 terminates in a knob 88. Adjustably secured to rod 83 is 'an insulating projecting element 81 having -a contact 88 secured thereto vand disposed above the projectl90 is connected to the positive terminal of one of the extreme batteries' of the series and to one end of the conducting wire which forms coil 38. The other endof the wire forming coil 39 is electrically-connected to one end of cony ductor 8| whose other end is electrically con'- .nected to contact 81.

A conductor 482 is also electrically connected to contact 81 and its other end is electrically connected to the conducting shaft 34 Aswitch having three contacts 83, 84

and 8.5 may be located at any convenient place.

A conductorl 88`has one end electrically connected to the conducting projection 4| and its other end electrically connected to'the contact 83. One end of an electrical conductor 81 is electrically connected to contact 83 and its other end is electrically connected to contact 84.y A conductor 98 is electrically connected to one end of contact 85 and its other end to the negative pole of the other extreme battery of the series. A relay, which may include a conducting coil |00 in which is located a stationary soft iron core |0|, may also be located at any convenient place. The core |0| is insulated from coil |00. A conductor |02 has oneend thereof electrically connected to the positive pole of one of the intermediate batteries of the series and its other end to one end of the coil |00. oflthe coil |00 is electrically connected to one end of conductor |03 whose other end is electrically connected to stationary contact |04 1ocated alongside of one end of armature |0|.

One end of a conductor |05 is electrically connected to armature 44 and its other end is Velectrically connected to contact |04. One end of a conductor |08 is electrically connected to the contact 88 on projection 81 and its other end is electrically connected to a contact |01 located near core |0|. One end of a conductor |08 is electrically connected to contact 84: and its. other end to the fixed end of a resilient armature contact |08 located in the path between contact |01, one end of armature |0| and contact |04. The resiliency of the armature |08 itself normally maintains the armature |08 away from contact |04 and contiguous with contact |01 to complete a circuit thereat. When the core |-0| is energized the'armature |08 is pulled to the core |0| and contact between armature |08 and contact |01 is broken but is made.

between armature |08 and contact |04.

In operation, the screws" I2 are adjusted so that the bed l0 is level as indicated by the spirit llevel |3. The angle of inclination of table I4 with respect to' bed l0 is adjusted by turning the handle 20 which rotates the shaft i8 whereupon the element I8 is moved in the desired)` direction on bed I0. The element 23 to be tested has one end anchored-to bolt 22 and thence extends in the groove in guide pin 24, over the freely pivoted grooved roller 25 and has a weight 28 attached to its other end to maintain taut the stretch thereof between pin 24 and grooved roller`25.` The stop watch may be one of the crown start, stop and flyback type calibrated to 0.01 second on the dial and ,is set at zero. The wheel 13 `is rotated until the pin 14 `forces the free end `88 of contact 81 away fromand out of contact with the free end 84 of contact 83 and the pin 15 is tangent to the element 23 at a point near roller 25 and between roller 25 and pin 24. The steelV rider 21 is then hung on the upper end of element 23 and retained thereat near the pin 24 by'retainer 30.

All of the electrical switches are openjat this stage as shown in Figure 10. The free ends of contacts 83, 84 and 85 constitute a tap switch and are brought into contact with each other byrmerely pressing down upon them manually.

This condition is maintained and the button 88y is pressed downwardly to actuate rod 83 which moves the projection 81 downwardly whereupon contact 88 engages contact projection 38 and just prior thereto the follower 80 and link 18 are retracted and swing the lever18 to locked pcisition` where the pin 15 is located in the notch in said lever 18 as shown in Figure 5. whereupon the wheel 13 is. locked in position and may not be accidentally .rotated'to allow the contact tips 84 and 88 to come together. With the free ends ofA contacts 83, 84 and 85 contiguous and the contacts 88 and 38 contiguous, the circuit shown j Vin the heavy' or dark lines of Figure 11 is comi pleted.

Practically simultaneously with the making of said circuit, the downward movement i of theprojection 81 causes the projection 81act'- ing upon projection 38 to rotate the shaft 34 The other end Y.

` jection 38contact 88, conductor |08, contact |01,

which swings lever 3| which in turn swings link 33 to actuate rod 32 spring 31 torotate shaft 20 in bearings 28 and onthe element 23. The electrical circuitthus made is as follows: from the positive pole of an extreme battery of. the series. through the'conductor 80, conducting coil 38, 'conductor 8|, conductor 82, conducting shaft 34, conductin'g proconductor |08, contact 84, contact and `conductor 98 to the negative terminal of the extreme battery of the series. Y Y

Immediately upon making of this circuit, which is instantaneous, the armature` 44=is -en'- ergized and is pulled by the electric" field 'to the conducting element 40. In moving'tortheyele-l ment 40, the armature 44 pulls on thelinki41 to against the action .of'

swing lever 48 about the pivot 49 and'pullsiod l 50 to swing lever 5| against action of spring 55 about pivot 52. The lever 5| in the coursof this movement presses against the crown 580i the stem of the watch to start the watch. Thusthe starting of the watch and the release of the rider are substantially or practically simultaneousl -As soon as armature 44I comes in contact with stop contact 40, a second circuit is made and this second circuit is as follows: from the positive pole of., an intermediate battery of the series through conductor |02, coil |00, conductor |03, contact |04,` conductor |05, armature 44, armature stop 40, conductor projector 4|, conductor 96, contact 93, contact 95 and conductor 88 to the negative pole of an extreme battery of the series. This circuit comes into existence while the rst circuit is in 4being and when said second circuit is made, it is only of temporary duration due to the actuation of the armature |09 by the core the armature |09 moves away from contact |01 breaking the rst circuit and as soon as the rst circuit is broken, the coil 39 is deenergized and armature 44 is actuated by the force of gravity to move away from stop 40 and the second circuit is broken, but the armature |09 actuated by the core |0| pulls the armature thereto to establish contact between armature |09 and contact |04 to establish the circuit shown in heavy lines in Figure 12, all of this being substantially instantaneous. p

When the armature 44 drops away-from stop 40, it moves to the stop 45 which limits its outward travel. In the course of this movement, link 41 is moved and counterswings link 48 about pivot 49 to push rod 50 and counterswing link about 52 to its upper position and away from the crown 58 of watch 56 which was started upon the iirst swing of link 5| against crown 58. `The circuit shown invheavy lines in Figure 12 is the third circuit made and is as follows: from terminal of an'. extremebattery of the series through conductor 90, winding 39, conductor 9|, contact 89, contact 83, conductor 91, contact 94, contact 95 and conductor 98 to the negative terminal of the other extreme battery ofthe series. With these two circuits in being, the armature 44 is again energized and is pulled upwardly and pulls on link 41 to swing lever 48 about pivot 49 and pulls rod 58 to swing lever 5| against the action of spring 55 about pivot 52, lIn the course of this swinging movement of lever 5|, lever 5| presses against-crown 58 to stop the watch. The pressure is released from the free ends of contacts 93 94 and 95 after the watch has been stopped and now the watch reading is taken and the frictional characteristic oi' element 23 is computed.

In order to set the apparatus for another test all that needbe done is to substitute the new element to be tested in place of the originally tested element 23, the free ends of contacts 93, 94 and 95 are brought together temporarily by a tap thereof whereupon, the watch is reset to the positive terminal of an intermediate battery of the series through conductor |02, winding |00, conductor |03, contact |04, resilient armature |09, conductor |08, contact 94, contact 95 and conductor 98 to the negative terminal of an extreme battery of the series. This circuit is established before the rider 21 gets alongside of the Winding 39 and armature 44 Ain its course of travel te eliminate Ithe e1eetrie aeld thereat which, if allo'wed to exist, would act upon the rider 21 andaiect its speed of travel along they element 23.

This electric field could be eliminated by releasing the button 85 to break the circuit, but this is not practical because it cannot Ahe done rapidly enough in a manual manner.

Before rider 21 has reached wheel 13 and after thexrod 83 has been pressed to its lower limit oft travel itis released and it is forced back to its orignalposition by spring 89 and .in thisvposition'the'xcontact 88 is away from projection 38. In=ithe=course of'reaching its uppermost position rndv83/ acting through the cam part 85 thereof pushesrthe follower' 80 which acts upon linkv 19 to `actuate lever 18 whereupon lever 18 disengages pin`15 and lever 18 is disposed in inoperative position. As projection 81=moves away from projection 35, spring 31 actuates lever 3| to returnretainer30 and lever 36 to their original positions.

With the third 'circuit in being the rider 21 on its slide along element 23, strikes the now unlocked pin 15 to cause the wheel 13 to snap rotate and in the course of this rotation, the pin 14 is disengaged from the contact 61 whose free end now snaps down upon the free end of contact 63 to a closed or operative position where the free ends of these contacts are contiguous. Thereupon a Vfourth circuit comes into being and is in electricalparallel with the third circuit which is still in being, bothof these circuits shown inheavy lines of Figure 13. The fourth circuit is as follows: from the positive zero; 'I'hen the wheel is rotated in position to separate contacts 63 and 61 and to dispose the pin 15 tangent to the new element to be tested and the rider 21 is placed on the new element to be tested at the pin 24 and behind retainer 30.

With the apparatus embodying the invention, a large number of different elements, particularly iilamentary elements, may be tested in a. comparatively short time and does not require a highly sldlled person to operate the same. The

flamentary elements may be any desirable yarn,

or other metals, etc. Likewise the lrider 21 may be composed of any suitable material such as coated or uncoated steel' or any other metal or solidified plastic material. The apparatus ofthe invention is particularly useful in ascertaining and comparing the utility and eiliciency of various lubricants which are applied to the filamentary elements under test. The apparatus of the invention has particular utility in connection with research involving the production of improved lubricants for textile yarns and threads.

Since certain changes may be made in the aforedescribed construction and different embodiments of the invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all the generic and specic features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention, which as a matter of language might be said to fall therebetween.

What is claimed:

l. A filament testing apparatus comprising filament, a time indicator, means for substantially simultaneously starting said indicator and actuating said actuable means to inoperative position whereupon said sliding means will slide along said filament and means rendered operative, by said sliding means when in the course of its travel, it reaches a particular part ol said filament, to stop said indicator, said last mentioned means including an electric circuit and electro-responsive means.

2. A filament testing apparatus comprising supporting means for supporting at an angle to the horizontal, a filament to be tested` means for maintaining said filament taut, the entire space immediately adjacent a major portion of said taut filament being completely unobstructed,- sliding means adapted to be moved solely by its own force due to gravity freely along the surface of said filament and guided by said filament in its course of travel, said sliding means being totally supported by said filament for free movement thereon, pivoted means for retaining said sliding means 'at a particular location on said filament, a time indicator, means for actuating said pivoted means to inoperative position whereby said sliding means is released and will. by its own force due to gravity freely slide along the surface of said filament, means for starting said time indicator substantially simultaneously with said release of said sliding means and including an electric circuit and electro-responsive means, and means rendered operative, by said sliding meanswhen in the course of its travel, it reaches a particular part of said filament, to stop said timev indicator, said last means including said electro-responsive means andan electric circuit.

3. A filament testing apparatus comprising supporting. means for supporting at an angle to the horizontal a filament to be tested, sliding means adapted to be movedby its own force due to gravity along the surface of said filament, pivoted means for retaining said sliding means at a particular location on said filament when said Ipivoted 4means is in operative position, resilient means for normally maintaining said pivoted means in operative position, means for actuating said pivoted means against the action of said` resilient means, to inoperative position whereby said sliding means is released and will by its own force due to gravity freely slide along the surface of said filament, means for .starting said time 'indicator substantially simultaneously with said release of said sliding means and com- A for starting .said time indicator and means for substantially simultaneously actuating said retaining means to inoperative position, whereby said time indicator is started and substantially simultaneously therewith said sliding means will start to slide freely along the surface oi' said filament, one of 'said last two means including a solenoid, a source of electric energy and a movable armature.

5. In a filament testing apparatus; supporting means for supporting at an angle a filament to be tested, sliding means adapted to be moved freely along the surface oi said filament solely by its .own force due to gravity, and guided by said filament, pivoted means for retaining said sliding means at a particular location on said filament when said pivoted means is in operative position, resilient means for normally retaining said pivoted means in operative position, a time indicator, means for starting said time indicator and including a movable armature, a solenoid adapted to be energized to actuate said armature, manually operable means for substantially simultaneously actuating said pivoted means to inoperative position and commeans for supporting at an angle a filament to be tested, means for maintaining said filament taut, the entire space immediately adjacent a major portion of said taut filament being completely unobstructed, sliding means adapted to be moved freely along the surface of said filament solely by its own forcef'due to gravity, said sliding means being totally supported by said filament for free movement thereon actuable retaining means for retaining said sliding means at a particular location on said filament, a time indicator, means for starting said time indicator and including an electro-responsive means and an `electric circuit including a source of electric energy and a solenoid'for actuating said electroresponsive element when said solenoidJs energized, means for substantially simultaneously actuating said retaining means to inoperative posiprising' a circuit including a solenoid and an 4 electro-responsive element adapted to be actuated by said solenoid when energized, and means rendered operative, by said sliding means when 4. In a filament testing apparatus; supporting means for supporting at an angle a filament to be tested, means for maintaining said filamentA taut, the entire space immediately adjacent a major portion of said taut filament being completely unobstructed," sliding.m,eans .adapted to be moved freely along the surface of said filament solely by its own force due to gravity and guided by said filament, said sliding means being totally supported by said filament for free movement thereon actuabie `retaining means for retaining said sliding means at a particular location on said filament, a time indicator, means tion completing said circuit, and means for breaking said circuit, said last means comprising a circuit including said electro-responsive means.

7. In a filament testing apparatus; supporting means for supporting at an 'angle a filament to be tested, means for maintaining said filament taut, the entire space immediately adjacent a jmajor portion of said taut filament bein'g means for actuating said retaining means to inoperative position and means operable simultaneously with said actuation to start said time indicator, said last two means operable in response to movement of a common manually operable means.

8. In a filament testing apparatus; supporting means for supporting `at an angle to the horizontal a filament to be tested, sliding means adapted to be moved freely along the surface of saidfilament solely by its own force due to gravity, actuable retaining means for lretaining said sliding means at a particular location on said lament, a time indicator, means for startl. ing said time indicator and including a solenoid and electro-responsive means, means for actuating said retaining means to release said sliding means and means to stop said time indicator and4 comprising a circuit including said solenoid,

a switch and a source of electric energy, trip means to maintain said switch open, said trip means actuated by said sliding means when it reaches a point on its travel along said element whereby said switch closes and said last mentioned circuit is made to actuate said electro,-

responsive means and stop said time indicator.

9. In a filament testing apparatus; supporting means for supporting at an angle to the horizontal, a thread, lament, wire or like unit to be tested, sliding means adapted to be moved freely along the surface of said unit solely by its own force due to gravity and guided thereby,

. actuable retaining means for retaining said sliding means at a particular location on said unit, a time indicator, means for substantially simultaneously starting said indicator and actuating said retaining means to release said sliding means, an electro-responsive means for stopping said time indicator, a circuit comprising a source of electric energien,y switch and a solenoid for actuating said electro-responsive means, trip means for maintaining said switch open, said sliding meanson its travel along said unit adapt-l ed to actuate said trip means whereupon said switch is closed and said circuit is completed.

10. In a testing apparatus;` supporting means for supporting at an angle to the horizontal, a thread, `filament, wire or like unit to be tested, sliding means adapted to be moved along the ,surface of said unit by its own force due to gravity, actuable retaining means for retaining said Asliding means at a particular location on said unit, a time indicator, means for substantially simultaneously starting said indicator and actuating said retaining means to release said sliding means, an electro-responsive means for i stopping said time indicator, a. circuit comprising a source of electric energy, a switch and a solenoid for y actuating said electro-responsive means, trip means for maintaining said switch solely by its own force due to gravity along the surface of said element, pivoted retaining means for retaining said slidingmeans at a particular location on said element, said pivoted retaining means carried by said support, atime indicator,

means for actuating said pivoted means and intuating said second mentioned pivoted means and including electro-responsive means, a circuit including a solenoid, a source of electric yenergy and said manually operable means, said electro-responsive means being actuated when said circuit is completed.

12. In a filament testing apparatus; supporting means for supporting at an angle to the lorizontal a filament, thread, wire or like element to be tested, sliding means adapted to be moved solely by its own force due to gravityl along the surface of said element, pivoted retaining means for retaining said sliding means at a particular location on said element, said pivoted retaining means carried by said support, a time indicator, means for actuating said pivoted means and including manually operable means, pivoted means for starting said time indicator, means for actuating said second mentioned pivoted means and including electro-responsive means, a circuit including a solenoid, a source of electric energy and saidv manually operable means, said electro-responsive means being actuated when said circuit is completed and means for breaking said circuit and including a circuit includingv a source of electric energy, a solenoid, electroresponsive means energized by said second mentioned solenoid and a switch including said first mentioned solenoid.

13,. A iilament testing apparatus comprising supporting means for supporting at an angle to the horizontal a filament, thread, wire or like element to be tested, sliding means adapted to be moved solely by its own force due to gravity along the surface of said element, pivoted retaining means for retaining said sliding means at a particular location on said element, said retaining means carried by said support, a time indicator, means for starting said time indicator and including a pivoted member and an electroresponsive element, a solenoid for actuating said electro-responsive element, a circuit including a switch, a source of electric energy andsaid solenoid, manually operable means .for substantially simultaneously actuating said retaining means and making said circuit, means for breaking said circuit and including a circuit including a source of electric energy, a solenoid and electro-responsive means energized by said second mentioned solenoid, and a switch including said rst mentionedsolenoid, means for stopping said time indicator and including said pivoted member and said first mentioned electro-responsive element, a circuit including said i'lrst mentioned solenoid, a source-of electric energy and a switch, trip means for maintaining said last mentioned switch open, said sliding means on its travel along said element adapted to actuate said trip means whereupon said switch is closed and said third mentioned circuit is completed.

LLOYD W. DAVIS.l 

